By Aliya Jiwan
Due to life-threatening allergies to peanuts, the Canadian School Boards Association has updated their publication, Anaphylaxis: A Handbook for School Boards, to assist school boards in implementing policies to address this issue. These allergies have placed lunchtime favourites, like peanut butter, in the middle of controversy.
The handbook was updated in order to provide current information on the incidence of allergies, medical and legal information as well as information on the actual experience of school boards. It also includes food allergy facts, consent forms for emergency procedures, and sample policies for school boards. Marie Pierce, executive director for the Canadian School Boards Association, explains that it is important that everyone understand the severity of anaphylaxis, “It’s not just a simple reaction to things. This is a life-threatening reaction,” she says.
According to the association, anaphylaxis is the medical term for “acute and severe allergic reaction.” It can be characterized by hives and itching, swelling of the lips and face and in extreme cases, the throat may swell resulting in death. While peanuts are the most common, other allergens can include shellfish, milk, eggs, sesame seeds and bee stings.
Pierce says the incidence of allergies is on the rise. “Although it’s hard to track down hard data, there seems to be an increase in anaphylactic related deaths and increase in sensitivities, in particular to peanut butter.” She reports that approximately 36 per cent of Canadians have some form of food allergies and two per cent of the general population in Canada is anaphylactic.
In 1994, an Ontario student died from exposure to trace amounts of peanut butter while on a field trip. Three years later, a 14-year-old Gloucester girl, who was not aware she had a peanut allergy, died after sampling a peanut sauce.
Ottawa schools have had a policy in place since 1998, says Hyacinth Haddad, co-ordinator of communications for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
Elgin Street public school has created a peanut free zone, but has not issued a school-wide ban. There is a peanut free table in the lunchroom for those with allergies, says principal Terry Davies. Teachers monitor the lunchroom and in addition, receive training on how to administer an epinephrine injection if needed, a drug that can delay and/or prevent a potentially fatal reaction.
For kindergarten students, peanuts are not allowed at all because food is consumed in the classroom and could pose a threat to other students. “It seems to work, very much by co-operation that our parents do not send peanut products to school in the lunchroom,” she says.
At Lisgar Collegiate, principal Angie Spence says there is not a ban on peanuts but food is not permitted in the classroom. “We see it as the responsibility of mature young people to know what areas are probably going to be danger zones for them,” she says.
Pierce says the association wants to protect students with allergies, “We want to ensure that, primarily, schools are safe for every child. To us even one child is one you have to deal with.”
The handbook can be downloaded free of charge from www.cdnsba.org or a printed copy can be purchased for $15 from the association by calling (613) 235-3724.